Prenatal maternal alcohol consumption and hospitalization with asthma in childhood: a population-based follow-up study

BACKGROUND: Asthma may have a prenatal origin. We examined whether maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy increases the risk of hospitalization with asthma in children. METHODS: We conducted a follow-up study on 10,440 singletons born at approximately 36 weeks of gestation or later to mothers attending midwife centers between April 1984 and April 1987 in Denmark. The mothers completed a questionnaire regarding lifestyle and socioeconomic factors, including alcohol consumption. The children were followed up through the Danish Hospital Discharge Registry. We determined the first hospitalization with a discharge diagnosis of asthma as recorded in the Danish Hospital Discharge Registry. RESULTS: Most pregnant women (81.5%) drank at least some alcohol during pregnancy, but only a few (2.1%) consumed 120 g or more per week. In total, 307 children were hospitalized at least once with a discharge diagnosis of asthma during follow-up (the cumulative incidence risk was 3.5% from birth to 12 years of age or the end of follow-up). After adjusting for maternal socioeconomic factors, dietary components, and other lifestyle factors, children whose mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy did not have an increased risk of hospitalization with asthma compared with the children of mothers who reported no alcohol consumption during pregnancy (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-1.29). Further analyses showed no association with the dose and type of alcohol or with binge drinking. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides no support for a causal link between maternal alcohol intake during pregnancy and asthma in childhood.